This invention describes dialkylthioalkenes, dialkylthioalkylcycloalkenes and monoalkylthioalkenylcycloalkenes defined according to the generic structure: ##STR3## wherein R represents C.sub.6 -C.sub.11 alkenyl or cycloalkenylalkyl; and R.sub.2 represents C.sub.1 -C.sub.3 alkyl and uses thereof in augmenting or enhancing the aroma or taste of foodstuffs, chewing gums, toothpastes and medicinal products.
Artificial flavoring agents for foodstuffs have received increasing attention in recent years. In many areas such food flavoring agents are preferred over natural flavoring agents at least in part because of the uniform flavor that may be so obtained. For example, natural food flavoring agents such as extracts, essences, concentrates and the like are often subject to wide variation due to changes in the quality, type and treatment of the raw materials. Such variation can be reflected in the end product and results in unreliable flavor characteristics and uncertainty as to consumer acceptance and cost. Additionally, the presence of the natural product in the ultimate food may be undesirable because of the increased tendency to spoil. This is particularly troublesome in convenience and snack food usage where such products as dips, soups, chips, prepared dinners, canned foods, sauces, gravies and the like are apt to be stored by the consumer for some time prior to use.
The fundamental problem in preparing artifical flavoring agents is that of achieving as nearly as possible a true flavor reproduction. This generally proves to be a difficult task since the mechanism for flavoring development in many foods is not understood. This is notable in products having blueberry, blackcurrant, guava, grapefruit, tomato, garlic and hydrolyzed vegetable protein-like taste nuances.
Reproduction of blueberry, blackcurrant, vanilla, guava, grapefruit, galbanum, tomato, garlic, green, hydrolyzed vegetable protein-like, beany and cooked vegetable-like, fried onion, floral, roasted, onion, crisp roasted, bacon, sweet, cherry and marachino cherry-like aroma and taste naunces has been the subject of a long and continuous search by those engaged in the production of foodstuffs, chewing gums, toothpastes and medicinal products. The severe shortage of foods, especially protein foods, in many parts of the world has given rise to the need for utilizing non-met sources of proteins and making such protein as palatable and as meat-like as possible. Hence, materials which will closely simulate or exactly reproduce the flavor or aroma of mushroom, hydrolyzed, vegetable protein and garlic are required. Furthermore, meat flavors have been enhanced previously by the use of such materials as monosodium glutamate. In many diets monosodium is not desired. Therefore, a need has arisen for a monosodium glutamate replacer.
Moreover, there are a great many of meat cotaining or meat based foods presently distributed in a preserved form. Examples of such substances are condensed soups, dry-soup mixes, dry meat, freeze-dried or lyophilized meats, packaged gravies and the like. While these products contain meat or meat extracts, the fragrance, taste and other organoleptic factors are very often impaired by the processing operation and it is desirable to supplement or enhance the flavors of these preserved foods with versatile materials which have hydrolyzed vegetable protein-like nuances as well as garlic and beany nuances.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,472,446 issued on Sept. 18, 1984 discloses methyl(methylthioalkyl)-1,3-dithiolanes defined according to the structure: ##STR4## wherein R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 are the same or different and each represents methyl or hydrogen with the proviso that at least one of R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 is methyl; and wherein m represents an interger of 1 or 2 as well as methods for augmenting or enhancing or modifying the organoleptic properties, e.g., taste and aroma of said foodstuffs. The methyl(methylthioalkyl)-1,3-dithiolanes of U.S. Pat. No. 4,472,446 are indicated therein to augment or enhance meat, turkey, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, mushroom, bread-like, meat extract, beef broth, pot roast, onion and brothy flavored foodstuffs.
The methyl(methylthioalkyl)-1-3-dithiolanes of U.S. Pat. No. 4,472,446 are indicated therein to provide meaty, hydrolyzed vegetable protein-like, sweet, meat extract-like, mushroom-like, turkey-like, chicken-like, port-like and butterscotch-like aroma nuances and oniony, onion/roasted hydrolyzed vegetable protein-like, sweet, meaty, meat extract-like, bready, mushroom-like, turkey-like, chicken-like, pork-like and butterscotch-like taste nuances.
Nothing in the prior art discloses the dialkylthioalkenes, dialkylthioalkylcycloalkenes and monoalkylthioalkeneylcycloalkenes of our invention are uses thereof in augmenting or enhancing the aroma or taste of foodstuffs, chewing gums, toothpastes and medicinal products. The dialkylthioalkenes, dialkylthioalkylcycloalkenes and monoalkylthioalkeneylcycloalkenes of our invention and organoleptic uses thereof are unobvious, unexpected and advantageous with respect to other acetals or ketals of the prior art.